"jimmy fallon" happening right [ cheers and applause ] this morning on "early today" -- damage assessment. a fresh snapshot on the nation's unemployment situation is about to be released as frustration builds among protesters. massachusetts mayhem. surveillance shows a suspect viciously attacking a female store owner. and welcome back. wounded congresswoman gabrielle giffords gets a warm reception wounded congresswoman gabrielle giffords gets a warm reception as she returns to washington. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry.

welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. today we begin with waiting for word. as the government releases its september jobs report today, the president is looking for dramatic ways to show he's in touch with americans who are taking to the street in protests across the country, aiming their frustration at the nation's banks. tracie potts is in washington with more. >> reporter: now we are starting to see some of the same frustration spill over here on capitol hill as lawmakers try to work things out and determine if they can pass all or maybe some of the president's jobs plan. the occupy wall street protest has spread from new york to pennsylvania, florida, texas, the west coast and washington. >> where are the jobs? >> the corporate greed machine who are supposed to be creating

jobs for us are holding on to money they are collecting from the tax cuts and no jobs are trickling down. >> reporter: today analysts expect the new jobs report to show that more jobs were created last month but with little or no impact on the unemployment rate. we are seeing some of that same raw emotion. >> you are going to win on this bill. >> there has to be an end to this. >> republicans are trying to force a vote on the plan to prove that all democrats are not behind it. democrats want to wait for the revised version which may include a 5% tax on millionaires. president obama says he is okay with that. >> i am fine with the approach they are taking. >> proposing a tax hike before an election won't create one single job. not one. >> reporter: republicans are accusing the president spending more campaigning and not enough

time governing. >> tracie, thank you. at the trial of michael jackson's doctor, attorneys said the pop star's fingerprints were not found on the syringes, vials or other medical paraphernalia in the bedroom where he died, undercutting the defense's theory that jackson had given himself the fatal drug dose. a federal task force says >> doctor conrad murray's defense went on the offense trying to point out mistakes in collecting evidence in jackson's bedroom days after his death. >> would you agree with me that you made a substantial number of mistakes in your investigation of this case? >> no. >> the prosecutors then went into damage control. >> did you conduct a perfect investigation in this case? >> no. >> have you ever conducted a

perfect crime scene investigation? >> no. >> the question is did any of these mistakes or combination of mistakes rise to a significant level and that remains to be seen. >> will that audio recording be marked? >> the troubling recording was allegedly taken six weeks before the singer died. >> a recording that raises theory of questions about dr. murray. >> why would the doctor tape record his patient? did he do it to sell it? it is highly shocking to me. >> evidence prosecutors hope proves dr. murray played a role in michael jackson's death.

a look at stories making news "early today" in america. a surveillance camera captured a vicious robbery attempt inside a massachusetts liquor store tuesday. it shows a female store clerk putting up a fight, struggling with the thief long enough for her son to come out and chase him off. the woman suffered minor injuries. she didn't bend it like beckham but the first lady did show some soccer skills thursday. michele obama hosted the u.s. women's soccer team at the white house to promote healthy living for children. close to 50 kids attended the event, taking part in drills and activities on the south lawn. and the buildup for saturday's red river rivalry between texas and oklahoma is in full swing. fans from each school battled in dallas at the seventh annual pigskin plane pull. the team from oklahoma was the fastest to pull a 737 aircraft across 50 yards. but not necessarily a good omen for sooner fans. the plane pull winner usually winds up losing the football game.

i would like to dispute that statistic. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins weather channel forecast. good morning to you. >> you going to be a big football fan? >> i am a little disappointed that i didn't think to wear my sooner red. i will have some upset family members. >> no burnt orange for me. >> lucky for you. >> the weekend forecast is looking very, very nice in much of the country. the exception is going to be the pacific northwest and the two areas where we will get a little stormy. not compared to the storm that just came on shore. we zo have winter weather advisories. up around mountains outside of salt lake city. wisconsin has been getting snow. we are also going to be watching another really weak system that has quickly moved through washington state. this kicks off snow showers in the highest elevations. take a look at the radar. you can see along the trough we had a little bit of damp weather

push through. that's going to be gone here by the heart of the morning rush hour. we could still deal with showers on and off. the forecast today temperatures are cool. still a chance of showers but not a lot of wet weather. we have cleared it out in california. a nice day in la 74. you can see the inner mountain west is where we are still dealing with some of theamounts too bad. weekend forecast details coming up. financials lead the markets. mortgage rates make history. and one of the unexpected ways apple's steve jobs is being remembered. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, who's corner will

movie goers be in this weekend? coming up, opening night of the nhl. the white sox hire a new manager. and the tigers roared past the yankees. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. the lie buyer -- lie birn -- >> federal prosecutors have laumplged a crack down on california pot dispensaries. this week several got letters saying they are violating federal drug laws even though medical marijuana is legal in california. they've been told to close or

face criminal charges. retired army general stanley mcchrystal says the u.s. entered the war in afghanistan with too little knowledge about the country. today marks the tenth anniversary of the conflict. now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,123 after gaining 183 points. the s&p rose 20 points. the nasdaq went up 46. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei added 83 points while in hong kong the hang seng grew 534. there's no short-term fix to europe's debt problems but for now investors are encouraged its leaders are working on a solution. at a meeting yesterday europe's leaders promised unlimited one-year loans to the region's lenders through 2013.

that should help ease fears of financial instability and offer added protection in the event of a greek default. financials rallied here at home, including morgan stanley, which has taken a beating over fears of its exposure to european banks. back to school sales lifted most retailers providing some much needed confidence in the economy. that along with news that initial jobless claims rose slightly less than expected last week. is driving optimism that today's big jobs report will confirm the economy is not slipping back into a recession. good news if you can afford to buy a home. average rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage have dipped below 4% for the first time in history. a stock buy back plan and quarterly dividend boost helping corning shares rise 7%. "new york times" gained 13% on news mexican billionaire carlos slim boosted his stake in the company. apple stock weathered news of

co-founder steve jobs' death with only a slight loss. meanwhile, apple rival samsung is predicting weak third quarter earnings but says sales of its smartphones are strong. and finally, fans around the world are remembering steve jobs in their own way. apparently some folks are even stocking up on his style. tmz reports st. croix, jobs' go-to brand for his signature black mock turtlenecks have seen sales almost double since his passing. coming up, the nhl season kicks off. and a nasty injury for the oregon ducks. plus, it was bad news from the get go for the new york yankees last night. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and heavy rain in the weekend forecast. but it's going to happen in a really good spot. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, you may want to steer clear of yankee fans this morning following last night's season-ender for the pinstripes. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. having the best record and the highest payroll in the league will not win you a championship this year.

detroit proved that last night. game five in the bronx. tigers came out swinging. don kelly took nova deep, a solo shot to right. detroit was up 1-0. the next hitter was delmon young and he took nova for a ride. yankee stadium in shock and tigers off and running up 2-1 after one. missed chances for yanks. the sacks are full. swisher struck out to end the inning. we go to the ninth. alex rodriguez trying to keep hope alive and jose valverde wasn't having it. struck him out and the tigers knock off the yankees with a 3-2 win. they'll play texas in the alcs. chicago white sox have hired robin ventura as their new manager. he has no managerial experience but he did play ten years in chicago. at the very least, he knows where the locker room is. nhl season opener, bruins raise the stanley cup championship banner. unfortunately for them, the flyers crashed the party. scored two goals in 47 seconds. claude giroux got past the defense, kicked the puck to himself and beat tim thomas. that stretch at the end of the

first period was the difference. the flyers won it 2-1. may be the only first game of the season but something tells me that the maple leafs and canadiens don't like each other. very physical contest in toronto. leafs on the board in the second. lombardi's first shot was stopped. circled the net, controlled the rebound and scored. leafs held on to win it 2-0. good news and bad news for oregon's michael james. first the good. heisman hopeful rushed for 239 yards in a score against cal. the bad, had to leave the game with a right arm injury and did not return. number nine oregon won big, 43-15 but suffered an even bigger loss. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a terrific weekend. i'm fred roggin. >> it is the end of a tv decade. and meet the men of a church parish as they have never been seen before. you are watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." we are only going be in the 50s in the rockies. nice day in phoenix. in the northwest we have rain showers this morning. especially out there in washington state. and into saturday, a more significant storm system is going to try to move on in.

california warms up along with phoenix. by the time we get to sunday's forecast, the northwest is the only area still dealing with less than ideal conditions. looks like a beautiful sunday down in southern california. if you are watching us on knbc in la in nearby long beach, see a presentation of dracula at the long beach play house. that's your pacific event of the day. >> we will work on the music. i try to be a good side kick. now is here's an early look at headlines in entertainment. two movie contenders are set to duke it out at the box office. futuristic film "real steel" stars hugh jackman as a former

boxer who helps build and train a boxing robot. experts say the sci-fi sport family hybrid has broad appeal and likely take the top spot with around $25 million. the "ides of march" starring, distributed and co-written by george clooney is about the presidential workings of a presidential campaign and boasts big name including ryan gosling, philip seymour hoffman and marisa tomei and expected to debut in second with around $1 million. espn is permanently dropping monday night football's opening song by hank williams jr. after williams used an analogy with hitler and president obama on fox news earlier this week. williams released a statement saying it was his decision to leave. and finally, being a celebrity definitely has its perks. at a chicago nightclub tuesday, the son of a russian billionaire reportedly treated zac efron and heather graham to a $100,000 bottle of champagne.

>> we didn't know there was a bottle that expensive. >> that is out of our league. >> and then the argument of whether you would drink it or not. >> don't be a hero. you would drink it. >> it is valuable. it's a waste. >> that's what champagne is for. you're with me, right? from hdh 7 news in boston where in nearby framingham a group of men are doing whatever it takes to raise $30,000 for their church. even if it means showing some skin. that's right. the men of first parish were all smiles showing off almost everything for their 2012 calendar shoot. although past their prime, the men between the ages of 64 and 87 say they're very happy to have the opportunity to celebrate their aging bodies. i don't want that picture. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

diamonds come in all shapes and sizes but their color is getting the attention in hong kong. a six carat blue diamond went for a record $10 million at auction. while a pink sparkler that wowed at nine carats took in $6 million. it was expected to fetch $19 million. this next job should include hazard pay. one married couple has worked as waste collectors at the great wall of china for over ten years. they have to climb over the wall

multiple times a day to pick up after messy tourists who toss their waste at the popular destination. getting over the wall is hard enough but lugging back up the 100-pound loads is even harder. owning a rocket belt seems pretty cool but actually learning to fly it can be another story. the jet pack of the future was too difficult for one man in england, so he enlisted the help of the world's leading rocket belt pilot. who knew there was a rocket belt pilot world renowned? training is risky. there are no simulators so losing control can be disastrous. he hopes to graduate to be europe's only rocket belt pilot. >> sign me up. >> really? i think marty mcfly is somewhere in the background. just saying, look how it advanced. >> the hover board, what happened to that? the skateboard that hovered. >> yes, a hover board. is this a seinfeld episode right now? time for an early look at stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. a quarter century after winning the super bowl the chicago bears

will finally get their white house visit today. in 1986 the team's reception was canceled due to the space shuttle "challenger" tragedy. redmond o'neal, troubled son of ryan o'neal and farrah fawcett will be sentenced in california. he was taken into custody after admits he used drugs while at a rehab facility. he had previously been sentenced to a year in rehab after pleading no contest in august to two felony counts including heroin and firearms possession. and happy birthday to rocker john cougar mellencamp who turns 60. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. the parents of a missing 10-month-old missouri girl speaks out, after police say they're no longer cooperating in the search. and kim kardashian co-hosts the fourth hour with hoda kotb and talks to matt about marriage,

kids and her future. and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today.